Unexpected departure puts priest's trial on hold

Wednesday

Apr 18, 2012 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - The civil trial of a former Catholic priest found liable of sexual misconduct against an altar boy ground to a halt Tuesday morning as San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Bob McNatt considered his options following Michael Kelly's abrupt departure for his native Ireland.

Roger Phillips

STOCKTON - The civil trial of a former Catholic priest found liable of sexual misconduct against an altar boy ground to a halt Tuesday morning as San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Bob McNatt considered his options following Michael Kelly's abrupt departure for his native Ireland.

After meeting briefly in chambers with attorneys for both sides, McNatt sent jurors home, instructing them to return to court this morning.

"Michael Kelly has made himself unavailable for the balance of the trial, evidently," McNatt said. "I need some time to determine how I will deal with this."

McNatt also instructed jurors to avoid reading press coverage of the case, though he acknowledged that large-type headlines Tuesday reporting Kelly's departure for Ireland were almost impossible to miss. He asked if any jurors had heard comments about the case, and when one raised her hand, McNatt met with the woman in chambers.

Meanwhile, the attorney for the victim, who is seeking damages, said his client had been "raped again" symbolically as the result of Kelly's departure. And Kelly's attorney, Thomas Beatty, said his client informed him during a five-minute phone call from Ireland on Monday that he will not be returning to the United States.

"I hope that we will change his mind," Beatty said. "I've urged him strenuously to do so, as has (Bishop Stephen Blaire). But his comment repeated to me was that he's gone home to die with his family."

Beatty said he continues to believe in Kelly's innocence. The attorney said Kelly, 62, is suffering from bleeding ulcers and a bowel condition and has battled recurring health issues for years.

Kelly's legal problems extend beyond San Joaquin County.

Sgt. Chris Hewitt, a spokesman for the Calaveras County Sheriff's Department, said Tuesday that his agency continues to investigate Kelly.

The investigation was triggered by an altar boy who reported being abused by Kelly when Kelly worked at St. Andrews Catholic Church in San Andreas. Hewitt said the investigation remains open, because detectives have identified more alleged victims and need to conduct further interviews.

"It's important for survivors to come forward," said Tim Lennon, leader of the San Francisco chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

But with Kelly in Ireland, there is no guarantee he will ever have to face additional accusers.

Patrick Piggott, a Stockton attorney and dean of the Humphreys College Laurence Drivon School of Law, said proceedings to force Kelly to return from Ireland cannot be initiated unless charges are filed against him. And even then, Piggott said, there is no guarantee of success in an extradition proceeding.

"You have to go through a pretty complicated process to submit it to a foreign government," Piggott said. "Then, they have the right to evaluate the case themselves. Nothing is going to happen quickly."

Kelly informed Blaire of his departure for Ireland in a letter received Monday by the Diocese of Stockton.

"I am sorry for any difficulty this may cause the Diocese, but my health can't take it anymore," Kelly wrote.

On April 6, a civil jury unanimously found Kelly liable of actions related to sexual assault. The victim, a 37-year-old man identified in court papers as John TZ Doe, was molested by Kelly while Kelly was a priest at Annunciation Cathedral in Stockton, they found. The victim was a student at Annunciation school in the 1980s.

Before leaving the country, Kelly had been scheduled to testify Tuesday in the phase of the trial focusing on the diocese's handling of the former priest.

"My primary concern is our client," the victim's attorney, John Manly, said when asked about Kelly's departure for Ireland. "It's just hard. You work so hard for 41/2 years. He's been through a terrible ordeal. Father Kelly raped him again."